The son of a Svelte Man
by Shalvanic knight of destiny
Summary: This is the story of a 15 year old teenager, Max, who in his 15th birthday, discovers an awful truth about himself... He is not human. Looking everywhere he can for answers, Max finds out that he shares some similarities with a tall creauture that is very feared now days by the society. Will Max find out who, or what he is? Where does he come from? Who is his father?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Light and dark**

Have you ever felt hated by everyone else? Like if each and every human being hated you for no specific reason? Well, that's the exact same situation of Max. A regular teenager, who's life was about to stop being normal.

Max (Who was 15 years old, with black hair, white skin, black eyes and was a little bit taller than some other teens), like every human, had a mother and a father. However, he has never met them. I guess you could say he was an orphan. You could... Anyway, the thing is, since he's an orphan he did not grow in a common house. He grew in an orphanage like every unfortunate child without parents. However, no one seemed to share his pain with him. Every boy and girl seemed to go away from him, for no reason at all. He had no friends.

Not everyone ignored him though. There were five kids, a few years older than him that have bullied the poor Max each and every day of his existence. They were; Tim (the big one of the group), Chris (a tall jerk), John (the smart ass of the group), Jake (A guy who's level of stupidity is amazing) and their "leader" Markus. Since Max can remember, they've been the bane of his existence and of everyone else in the orphanage. It almost seemed like they owned the place.

You would normally think, "But, what about the teachers in that orphanage?" Well, they where almost as bad as those five idiots. They weren't able to do anything good. Whenever there was a fight, they joined the crowd, yelling and supporting the strongest one in the fight, or the one who seemed to have the advantage.

Life was hell to Max in almost every way possible. However, wherever there's dark, there must be at least a little bit of light. And that light in Max's live had a name, Jessy. She was a regular girl, with black hair, blue eyes, a svelte figure, and white skin. She was a beautiful girl, however, just like Max, everyone ignored her, and the bullies also enjoyed her suffering just as much as they enjoyed Max's.

As far as Max can remember, Jessy has been the only friend that he has ever had in his whole live. The other people just give him weird looks and get away, or they just simply get as far away as they can from him. But unlike them, Jessy did not do that. She was the only one who ever dared to get close to this so called "freak" and talk to him. She was his only friend. They both felt that they had something in common. Maybe the fact that their parents abandoned them in the same place, perhaps the fact that no one seems to care about them; but something that they both had quite in common, was their hate towards that pack of abusers.

They've always said to each other that they would pay for everything they have done... and they were right... you have no idea of how much. But what Max had less idea of, was that his life, was about to become much worse than what it already was.

In the day of his 15th birthday, Max was at his bedroom, waking up after a very heavy dream. It was 11:35 am and he was already late for his first class. He didn't knew it was his birthday, after all, he didn't care too much about it, since his life was so miserable, he lost all interest on any date of the year. They were all the same for Max, no matter what day, month or hour.

He was very tired and sleepy, but still, he had to get up, and so he did, although he thought that even getting up wasn't worth it, he had to. He put on a white shirt, some black jeans, and a black sweater, and he went outside of his room to go to class.

He was still very sleepy and tired; his eyes were closing with every step he made almost to the point to where he was literally walking asleep. But then, a very familiar, but horrible voice woke him up. ¨Fuck¨ Max said to himself, as he began to recognize whose voice was that. It was Markus, talking to his crew while they were getting closer and closer to Max, until they finally noticed Max's presence.

_Markus:_ Well, well, well! Look who do we have here guys! It's none other than our favorite freak, Max.

_Max: *Whispering*_ Oh, great...

_John:_ Hey Max, what are you doing over here, so late in the day huh?

_Chris_: Looks like someone is been a sleepy fuck.

_Tim_: You know what is the perfect solution for that? A couple punches can wake up people real good...

_Max_:_ *With a bit of sarcasm in his voice*_ Thank you for worrying about me guys, but it is not necessary. I can wake up by myself. You don't need to do anything.

_Markus_: Aw, but we just want to be gentle with you Max. After all, we can't let our favorite forever alone guy miss classes, isn't that right boys? But... I think it would be better if you go to sleep a little bit more...

As Markus said that, Jake got behind Max and crouched, so Markus could push Max and make him fall.

_Markus:_ ...so, why don't you just... Sit down and relax!

As he said that, he pushed Max so hard, he fell down really quick, and landed in the floor painfully. Max did saw this coming, but he knew there was no use in showing opposition, because it would only be worse, so he just let it happen, and fell.

_Markus_: _*Laughter*_ That's what you get, you dumb-ass! Don't stay there for too long, we still have a lot more things to do with you.

Then, those 5 bullies left Max on the floor, and walked away, laughing. Max didn't even stand up. After all this time, he knew it wasn't worth it. If he were to stand up, they would try to ruin his day again, and if he didn't, they would still kick him while he's down. He just stood there, laying down, hearing to their laughter from far away.

He stood there, on the floor, for a couple minutes, thinking about how miserable his life was, like usual, until he heard a feminine and very familiar voice. It was from the only person Max really cared about, Jessy.

_Jessy_: Don't you know that there's something called beds, you sleepyhead?

Max turned his head to where Jessy's voice was coming from, to see her. She was just standing in front of him, with a happy expression on her face, smiling at him. When Max saw her smile, he smiled as well. Seeing her smiling was the only thing that could make Max happy. She's been the only reason why he hasn't tried to commit suicide.

_Max_: Hey, Jessy. Aren't you supposed to be in class now?

_Jessy_: Yea, and aren't you supposed to be there as well Max? Why are you on the floor in the first place?

_Max_: Take a guess... Markus and his gang of idiots came by.

_Jessy_: _*Sigh*_ No wonder why they were so happy. Did they break your legs or what?

_Max_: Nah... They just made me fall that's it. I really don't think it's even worth it to try and stand up again. It's just another endless loop of pain in my life._ *Sigh* _

_Jessy_: Oh come on Max. *crouches and grabs his hand* Even if it is, you know you still need to keep on going. Besides, who am I gonna talk to if you're not there? Now stand up.

As Jessy said that, she tried to make Max stand up, by pulling him by his hand. At first Max didn't do anything, but then, he decided to listen to her, and he stood up. Jessy tried to make Max feel better by smiling at him, and as soon as she began to smile at him, he did the same and instantly felt better. Jessy knew that the only way she could make Max feel better whenever those idiots did something to him was smiling.

Then, Jessy leaned her head to the side, pointing towards the classroom they needed to be in as a way to say, "come on, let's go" and Max followed her, with a little bit of hope restored on him. However, Max could somehow feel than that day was going to get worse one way or another, although he did not know why did he have that feeling.

During their class, Jessy and Max were sitting next to each other as usual, with those 5 douche bags not so far away from them. They were in the middle of Math lessons, when Jessy got a bit closer to him to whisper to him as the teacher was writing on the white board.

_Jessy_: Hey Max, guess what?

_Max_: What's up Jessy?

_Jessy_: Do you know what day is it today?

_Max_: Uh... well, I know it's June, but... I really don't know what day is it today. _*Says to himself* Nor do I really care much to be honest... _

_Jessy_: Well, just so you know, today is 2nd of June. And today is a very especial day. You really don't know why?

_Max_: To be honest with you, I don't. Why is it so especial for you?

_Jessy_:_ *sigh_* Well, it's because it reminds me of someone very especial for me. And you wanna know who that is? Well, if you do want to know why, then meet me at your room at 5:00 pm. I'll be there waiting for you after classes are done, ok?

_Max_:_*Little bit of jealousy on his voice*_ Someone? Who's that someone this day reminds you of?

_Jessy_: _*Giggle*_ Well, if really want to know, then meet me at your room at 5:00 pm. Then I'll tell you _*playfully smirks*_.

Max stayed quiet for a second, and then said yes with his head, not sure what to think of, feeling a little bit of jealousy, thinking that Jessy might have feelings for someone else, even though they were both ignored by everyone else, his mind couldn't think of anything else, due to his insecurity. Jessy just smiled at him, as a way to say "there's nothing to worry about", because she knew what Max thinking, after all, they've been 15 years together. They both knew each other pretty well.

A few hours later on that same day, Max and Jessy were just hanging around on the hallways as usual, people simply ignoring them like always. They were talking about a few rock bands that they like, about what subjects they like, etc. Just a normal day, until the group of five idiots came by and saw them. Max was too distracted too see them coming from behind, however, Jessy saw them in the corner of her eye getting dangerously close to Max, ready to hit him from behind and to make him fall to the ground again, and when they were about to do that, she grabbed Max by the arm and moved him away so they couldn't hit him.

Max didn't know what was going on until he was able to see them, and then he knew that Jessy moved him away from them in time. Markus and his gang only stared at them with anger. They would accept the fact that one of their victims got away before they could do anything to them.

_Markus_: Aw, isn't that cute? The two freaks are taking care of each other. How nice. I wonder though, who's the woman in this relationship?

_Jessy_: Ha, ha, ha. How creative Markus. Why don't you and your fucking orgy of ass hats go away, huh?

_Tim_: And why don't you just shut up and go back to the kitchen bitch?

_Max_: Don't you dare talk to her like that you fat ass!

_Chris_: And who he fuck asked for your opinion you freak?!

As soon as Chris said that, he kicked Max in the stomach, making him fall onto his knees, and Jake kicked Max in the face so couldn't stand up afterwards. Jessy tried to see if Max was ok, but Markus grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from Max, and then he pushed her to the wall, not so roughly, but still quite violently.

_Markus_: Going to help your boyfriend Jessy? Oh yea, that's right! He doesn't even have the guts to ask you out. Such a shame. However, if you want to be with a real man, well, I'm always here.

_Jessy: *Spits at Markus' face*_ Not even in your dreams you fucker. Besides, Max has more guts than any of you five idiots will ever have! He's not a fucking asshole, he's a nice person, and more of a man than what you, piece of shit, will ever fucking be! _*Stomps on Markus' foot* _

_Markus_: AGH! You fucking bitch! You are gonna pay for that!

After saying that, Markus raised his hand in a attempt to punch Jessy, but as soon as Max saw what he was about to do, he stood up, and right when Markus was about to punch her, he grabbed his fist with strength, more strength than what he knew he had, and with a very angry expression, he looked into Markus' eyes and slowly said:

_Max:_ Don't. You. Even. Dare. To. Touch. HER.

_Markus: *With a little bit of fear and surprise in his eyes*_ Oh yea? And what are you gonna do if I touch her?

_Max_: I'm gonna murder you, YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!

Then, with a lot of rage, he twisted Markus' wrist and pushed him away with a single kick. His expression was full of surprise and wrath. Jessy just stood there, quite impressed after seeing what Max was able to do. And then, we everyone else heard the sound of a fight, they instantly went towards the sound of the fight, and when they saw that it was Markus and his gang, against the guy that no one ever cared for, they just went near them, making a whole crowd of people who always like to watch fights and they all started to shout, louder and louder, "Fight, Fight, Fight!". Max didn't care about the noise they were making. He was too focused on his target to even notice the presence of the crowd, which was getting bigger and bigger.

Markus was looking right into Max's eyes with rage, but then, he smirked in a evil way, and with only one move of his hand, he send Tim to do his dirty job for him. Of course he wasn't gonna get his hands dirty without sending his "minions" first to do most of the job as usual.

Tim was smiling evilly, thinking that Max did not have any chances of winning this fight. He crunched his knuckles to look a bit more menacing, and to give Max a warning. Max did not move a single bit. He had enough of all that. He had enough of having such a shitty life, and on top of everything, to have to stay silent as these idiots laughed at his misery. He was going to fight for the first time in his life. And so, somehow confident, he smirked at Tim and put himself in a fighting position, ready to engage him with everything, and as a way to provoke Tim, he extended his hand at him and showed him the middle finger, and then he showed two of his fingers and moved them back and forth, as a way to say "Come for me if you can", at which Tim answered with an angry look and charged at Max.

Max immediately dodged him and kicked him in the back. Tim only got more angry and tried to punch Max, but he blocked his punch with his arm, moving his fist away, and Tim tried again, and again, but Max kept blocking him, making him waste his energy in pointless punches. And right when Tim attempted to hit him once more, Max grabbed his fist just like he did with Markus and stomped on his foot, then kicked him in his stomach, and gave him an uppercut, making Tim fall on his back. Everyone gasped, amazed at Max's strength and agility.

Tim, almost unable to speak due to the surprise of how strong Max was, got up, and tried to grab Max to smash him into the ground, but Max was able to dodge him once more and kicked Tim in the knee, then punched him in the face, and knocked him out with a flying kick straight to the face.

Everyone was silent, completely impressed and stunned because of what just happened. Jessy was completely amazed and unable to speak. She never thought Max was so strong, or so agile. Markus changed his expression, from totally impressed, to completely angry, and with another move of his hand he told the rest of his "minions" to go after Max at the same time, so he had less chances to fight back. Max, with a look of confidence, engaged them all in fight, as the crowd began to shout "Fight!" again.

Jake was the first one to make a move, attempting to punch Max in his ribs, but Max grabbed him by the arm, pulled him, and kicked him in the stomach. Then John got closer to him, but before he was able to do anything, Max threw Jake at John, making both of them fall. Then Chris tried to punch Max in the face, but Max blocked that punch and hit Chris in the head with his elbow, then he put his hands together and hit Chris in the face again, making him get on his knees and almost breaking his nose, then Max finished him off by kicking him in the chin with his knee.

John and Jake started to get up and tried to hit Max from the back, but he saw them before they could get closer and charged at John, making him fall again, and stomped on his stomach while he was on the ground. Jake tried to punch Max again, but he grabbed him by the fist and twisted his wrist with such strength he broke it, making him scream in pain and making him kneel as well, and as soon as he got on his knees, Max kicked him in the head as hard as he could, knocking him out instantly.

Markus could not believe that Max was able to knock them all out at the same time, and with rage he got near Max, in a fight position, ready to fight Max himself. Max was waiting for this moment for 15 years, and he was ready to face the major bully.

Markus clenched his hand into a fist and attacked Max with all his rage, trying to punch him as hard as he could, but Max kept dodging, redirecting and blocking all of his punches, no matter how hard he was punching, Markus couldn't hit him at all. Markus was getting more and more tired, wasting all his energy in punches that Max kept on blocking constantly. And as soon as he was tired enough, Max grabbed him by the arm, and twisted it against his back, making Markus unable to move, then Max kicked him in the knees and then in his back, making him fall into the ground, but not knocked out just yet.

Max waited until Markus got up again. He was enjoying this way too much to let it end so quickly. And when Markus got up, he tried to uppercut Max, but he dodged it by leaning backwards, and then, he head butted Markus as hard as he could, making him bleed from the forehead, and when Markus saw blood dripping from his head, he tried to grab Max to strangulate him, but Max kicked him in the face, then punched him in his stomach, kicked his ribs and finally punched in the face with all his strength, nearly knocking him the fuck out and making him fall on his back hard.

Max felt a warm sensation inside, feeling happy and great for his victory. He finally defeated those who had terrorized the whole orphanage and avenged himself, Jessy and all those who suffered by them. Everyone started to cheer him, but no one knew his name, so Jessy started to shout, "Go Max!" And then everyone followed and started to shout his name with happiness. "Max, Max, Max!" they kept saying. Max was feeling all sorts of good things, like glory, and popularity. This victory, this action of his would not go unnoticed. He would finally be someone in the society he lived in. But he did not notice that Markus, was getting up once again, this time armed with a knife he had in his pocket, about to stab Max. Luckily, Jessy and everyone else warned Max of this, however, he did not look back, confident and self secure for the first time ever, and when Markus tried to stab him, without looking back, he grabbed Markus' hand before he could stab Max, and twisted his wrist again, then turned around and kicked Markus away. Max stared at Markus, who was breathing really heavily, due to how tired he was and to all the punches and kicks he had received from Max, who just stood there and said:

_Max_: You want to know what I hate the most?

_Markus: *With a lot of anger in his voice and breathing heavily*_ What?!

_Max_: Assholes who think of themselves as gods and that will not stop until they get what they want, even if that means that they have to make others suffer.

When Max finished that phrase, Markus tried once more to stab Max, but he once again moved too quickly to get hit and when Markus tried again, Max grabbed the knife by the blade without even thinking about it, then kicked Markus away once more, but this time he took the knife off him, and then he threw the knife to the ground, almost hitting Markus in the process, and then Max charged at Markus and tackled him to the ground, then he made Markus stand up again by grabbing him by his shirt and kicked him in his genitals as hard as he could, and then he punched him in the face so hard, he almost made one of his teeth come out of his mouth, knocking him out at last.

Everyone cheered, shouted and screamed with excitement and happiness the name of Max, the only one who has ever dared to face Markus and his gang, and the very first one on giving them a well deserved lesson. Max felt good with himself for the very first time, proud, even happy for beating them up. He almost felt like he was dreaming, because not even him knew where did he got those moves or that strength, but he did not care and started to search Jessy in the middle of the crowd by just looking, and when he saw her, she had an impressed expression, as well as a very wide smile in her face.

Max was about to go with her, when out of nowhere, the voice of a teacher was heard above the voices of everyone else. Then everyone in the crowd ran back to their rooms, except of Markus and his gang, who were still unconscious, but then the teacher, who actually was the principal, yelled "Everyone stay where you are!" and they all stood there, nervous and somewhat scared, with Jessy, Max, Markus and his gang in the middle.

_Principal_: Can someone tell me, what the hell is going on here? Why are Markus, John, Jake, Chris and Tim on the ground, what is that knife next to Markus doing there, and what is the meaning of all this nonsense and noise?

The crowd just pointed with their fingers at Max, as if he was guilty of a murder or something, and when everyone did that, Jessy walked out of the crowd and stood beside Max, as a way to say, "I'm here with you, don't worry" to Max. Max looked into her eyes, and smiled at her with a bit of confidence still in him, and decided to speak, since no one else was.

_Max_: Uh... I'm sorry Mr. Principal, I...

_Jessy_: Those ass-... sorry, those "guys" were annoying us like always, and then they kicked Max so he couldn't stand up. Markus tried to punch me as well, but Max defended me and then Markus and his gang of idiots started a fight.

_Principal_: So, this was a fight huh? And you say Markus started it by trying to punch you, Jessy? Well, I'm not surprised. But, how is it that they are all on the ground?

_Max_: T-that was my fault sir... I fought back. I had to defend Jessy, and the only way I could stop them was by showing defiance.

Then, someone in the crowd yelled, "Yea, and Max kicked their asses!". The principal looked to were the yelling came from, offended by the use of words like that when other one said, "He's right, Max beat them up. But it was about time someone showed those idiots a lesson". Then other shouted "Yea, and they couldn't even touch him! Max was like a lightning". Then someone else said "Markus had that knife and tried to stab Max on the back while he wasn't looking, but Max literally grabbed the knife by the blade and took it off him". "And then he knocked him out by punching him straight in the face!" Other one said. The principal heard everyone talking about the event, stood silent for a second, and then grabbed Max by the arm and said:

_Principal_: To my office. Now. When Markus and his friends wake up, I'll talk to them. For now, I most talk with you.

Max obeyed and walked with the principal to his office, while some of the people in the crowd were defending Max and yelling that he shouldn't ground him, that he did something good, and something not even the principal could do, which was stopping Markus and his gang. He did not listen and with a move of his hand, he told everyone to return to their rooms, and they all had to obey. Jessy didn't know whether to obey or to follow Max. Max turned around, still walking, and said "go" by moving the head towards where everyone was going, and Jessy, with a sad look, did as Max told her and returned to her room, whispering to herself "I just hope you'll be alright Max...".

Once in the Principals office, he told Max to sit down in the chair that was next to his desk, and so he did, feeling a little bit of guilt on him, not sure what was he going to say. Then, the principal sat down in the other chair behind his desk and sighed, ready to give a speech to Max.

_Principal_: Max... you know what you did wasn't good, right?

_Max: *Sigh*_ Yea... I'm sorry. But there was no other way to stop them from hitting Jessy.

_Principal_: I know that. But violence only brings more violence, and I can not allow that. However... even though I shouldn't be saying this... you did a good job Max.

_Max_: Yea, yea, I know it was wrong to punch them, and you... wait... good job? How... what?

_Principal_: You hear right Max. I'm actually congratulating you for your... "victory". And like some of your other class mates said, you really kicked their asses. Pardon my vocabulary, but, it's true. They really deserved that. And to be honest, I really did not know what to do with them. I've tried everything, and nothing works to make them change. I know this won't make them change, but I bet they will lower their bullying towards you, and some others. Besides, what you did, was for a good reason, so, I'll let you go just with a small warning. As for Markus and his friends, more like dogs actually, I'll talk with them when they recover their consciousness. You can go now Max. Enjoy the rest of the day.

Max just stood there with a very confused expression, not sure as to why did the principal himself congratulated Max for doing what he did, but then he thought that maybe the Principal has had enough of the problems they cause. Then Max decided to stand up from the chair he was sitting in, and leave to see Jessy. He saw the clock and it was about to be 5:00. He remembered Jessy had told him that if he wanted to know why was this specific day so important to her, he had to meet her at his own room at 5:00. Max headed to his room as soon as he saw the time.

In the way to his room, he found a few of the people that saw him fight against Markus and his gang. They all said hi, congratulated, and cheered Max. For the very first time, someone besides Jessy was paying attention to Max. He felt really good and successful on his way to his room. He almost felt like a hero, since everyone seemed to treat him like that.

Then, Max finally got to his room, he saw the door was closed. He knocked on the door, and then, he heard a feminine voice saying "Password please". He then rolled his eyes and knocked on the door again

_Max: *Still knocking on the door*_ Jessy, it's me, Max. I'm back. And I have no idea what the password is.

_Jessy: *Behind the door, holding the knob so Max can't get in right away*_ Ha ha, yea I knew you would say that. Fine, you can come in.

Then, Jessy stopped holding the knob and backed a bit away from the door. Max was able to open the door, and as soon as he opened it, Jessy shouted "Surprise!" and on the wall there was a small hand made sign saying "Happy birthday Max!" with a lot of colored letters on it, on Max's bed there was laying a small chocolate cake, Max's personal favorite flavor, and a tiny box laying beside the cake, with a red bow on it. Jessy opened her arms and hugged Max with joy. Max was completely confused again. He didn't even know it was his own birthday. He was blushing a little bit due to Jessy's sudden hug, but he was enjoying it, and he hugged her back, but then he pulled away for a second just to ask.

_Max: *Blushing slightly and confused*_ Uh... Well, uh... Thanks Jessy, but... it's not my birthday, I think... no, wait... I think it actually is. I don't remember...

_Jessy_: Yea... I kinda knew you would forget about your own birthday, since you barely give a shit about anything else. But I didn't. You are the person this day reminds me of, June 2nd. And it's important, because you are important to me Max. And uh... I decided to make this small little birthday party just for you. I hope you don't mind. And sorry for the sudden hug... *Backs a bit away, ashamed and blushing*

_Max_: No, no, it's fine. I actually enjoyed that... uh, I mean... *Blushes even more* I... I kinda like your hugs...I, no, wait, uh... sorry, I didn't mean... uh... shit... *Begins to move nervously and blush increases*

_Jessy: *Giggles a bit and smiles, blushing still and places gently her hand on Max's cheek*_ Its ok Max. I get what you meant. I like to hug you too... uh... so, how about we go and open your presents? Come, I bought you a few things. Its not much but I hope you like it.

Max's blush increased a lot as soon as Jessy's hand touched his cheek, feeling those "butterflies" in his stomach again. He had always felt them ever since he got to meet Jessy better. He never knew what that meant. Everyone always says it means you love someone when that happens, but Max wasn't sure what to think about that. He had never felt love for anyone or anything. But he did knew something, he never wanted to leave Jessy's side. He always wanted to be at her side, perhaps, if he was lucky enough, being more than just a friend, or a best friend. "Silly fantasies" he had always thought. He was so insecure, he never thought someone could ever love him. Though Jessy did.

Ever since she first saw Max, Jessy fell in love with him. But she never thought it would convenient to tell him. In first place because she wasn't sure how love felt, and in second place, because she feared Max would reject her. She had made things for Max in the past, things so he could at least kind of see that she felt something for him more than friendship. She had intense butterflies whenever she was near Max, and after that day's events, she wanted to treat Max as a hero, because that is what he became for everyone, especially for her. He stood in the way between his most hatred enemy, defeated him and his followers, only to prevent her from getting hurt, to defend her. "Maybe Markus and the others where right... we could make a nice couple... no, what the hell am I thinking... I don't think he would see me as his girlfriend. But, its worth dreaming with that fantasy..." Jessy said to herself in her mind, as they got closer to Max's bed, where the presents and the cake were laying, waiting to be opened.

Jessy picked up the small box with the red bow on it and gave it to Max, who carefully opened the box and he saw inside it, a small necklace with a metal piece that had the shape of a dragon. That was Max's favorite mythical creature. And in the box there was also what seemed to be a CD with something written on blue marker that said: "for Max". Max grabbed both presents, feeling happy for receiving them, but a little bit guilty because he felt he didn't deserve them.

_Max_: Oh wow... Jessy... I... this wasn't necessary, I mean... with the cake and the surprise is more than enough, I couldn't ask for anything else.

_Jessy_: Shh. Don't say that. Of course it was necessary Max. Even if it wasn't, I wanted to give you those. The necklace was made by me. I know, it looks somewhat stupid, but I tried. As for the CD, I downloaded a few songs from our favorite groups and rock bands and put them all there. Do you like them?

_Max_: Like them? Oh god, I love them! The necklace is really fucking cool, and the CD is a very nice detail from you. Both gifts and the surprise were really nice details from you. I... I don't even know what to say Jessy. This is just... perfect. Thanks a lot Jess _*Walks towards Jessy and hugs her, both of them blushing quite a bit* _

Jessy: _*Feeling butterflies and hugging Max back*_ Y-you're welcome Maxy... You know you are my best friend, and I'll always look out for you.

Both of them at that moment where feeling a lot of butterflies and blushing like crazy. Max didn't like when people call him Maxy, and by people, I mean Markus and his gang. However, whenever Jessy called him like that, Max always felt happy. And whenever Max called Jessy, Jess, she felt very especial. It was like their way to call themselves when they where alone, since they where very good friends, an secretly in love with each other.

Both of them were blushing very badly, and actually getting somewhat nervous, looking into each other's eyes and being so close to each other. Then they both looked away for a second to try to calm down, then Jessy grabbed the CD looked at Max again.

_Jessy_: Uh... w-why don't we play the CD so you can listen to the songs it has?

_Max_: Uh, y-yea... that w-would be a good idea.

Then, Jessy put the CD inside Max's stereo, which he obtained thanks to some person that didn't want it and threw it away in the streets, and played it. The song playing was Pain, by Three Days Grace, one of Max's personal favorites. Max stood there with a very happy expression when he heard that song and he began to sing it, along with Jessy who also loved Three Days Grace and decided to include that song in the CD, as well as many others that she and Max enjoyed and that they could feel identified with.

Jessy pulled two small spoons out of her pocket, gave one to Max and sat next to the cake, then pointed at the cake with her head, as a sign that she wanted Max to sit beside her and eat the cake. After all, it wasn't going to eat itself, right? Max sat beside Jessy and with the spoon he cut a small portion of the cake and ate it, while the music was playing. He was enjoying this evening more than any other in his entire life. But they didn't know that this evening, was also going to be the worst any of them could ever have.


	2. Chapter 2: Happy Birthday Max

**Chapter 2: Happy Birthday Max**

Outside the Principals office, shouting and cursing could be heard from a mile away, and everyone going near became curious and somewhat scared, thinking that the principal has never been so angry at anyone. Then, the shouting ceased, and the door opened violently, as the principal pointed with his finger the exit, and slowly Markus and his gang came out of the office, with sad and scared expressions on their faces, then once again, the principal told them not to get into any more trouble and shut the door with violence.

As soon as he shut the door, the expression on their faces changed to enraged and with a lot of anger as well. None of them could even believe that Max, the guy who they had always bullied hit them back, and not just that, but that he also managed to knock them all out like nothing. They were all frustrated and filled with rage. Especially Markus. He was just staring into nothingness, remembering how Max grabbed the knife with his bare hand and took it off him, and then how he managed to knock him out with a single punch. It was the first time Markus ever lost in a battle, but only because in every other fight he called his gang to back him up, or he used his knife to scare whoever was trying to challenge him away, but this time, none of his cheating techniques worked. This was completely unacceptable for Markus.

Jake: God this is awful... grounded for almost a year and beat up by just one guy... only one god damn guy! This sucks... Honestly none of this shit could get any-

John: Shut up Jake! Don't you know that whenever someone says "Things can't get worse" they get much worse?

Jake: Wait, wha-? Dude, that's bullshit! That's what happens on the cartoons man not in real life. And I thought you were the smart ass here John.

John: First off, of course I'm the smart one here Jake. Much smarter than you. And no, its a fact, not a "cartoon bullshit". If something goes wrong, it can get much more worse than what it already is.

Jake: Come on man, you know that's complete bull crap! Do you really think any of that is true? We just hit the bottom of the bowl, this can't get any worse than what it is!

John: And you just said it... great... you fucking idiot! Now things are gonna be shittier thanks to you! And its not "Bottom of the bowl" you dumb ass, its "bottom of the barrel". But now, thanks to you, who the hell knows what are we gonna go through now that things are gonna get worse!

Then a shiver ran down the spines of John and Jake at same time as someone put his hands on top of their shoulders, and when they turned to see who it was, they saw Markus, who was still staring into nothingness, and with rage on his voice, he spoke.

Markus: Oh, you are damn right things are going to get worse John... things are gonna get so fucking worse, that you have no idea of how bad they'll be. But not for us. We already got humiliated in front of literally everyone in this place, and yes, we just hit the bottom of the fucking barrel, but things are not going to get worse for us. But Max though... oh that bastard will wish to be in hell once we are done with him, and we will fucking put him in hell ourselves. Now, we'll make his life twice as bad as it already was. No one ever fucking dares to beat me up, and I mean NO ONE. Mark my words; He. Is. Fucking. Dead. YOU HEAR ME?! I won't accept this. From now on, anyone who ever dares to put a single hand on me, will pay hard. I swear I'll make that loser regret everything he just did!

Everyone stood silent, looking at Markus, who was now shaking due to all the rage he had. Then Tim cracked his knuckles and chuckled, with a smirk on his face, then he got close to Markus and looked in the direction of Markus.

Tim: I agree. We have to show that little brag who is boss in here. Whatever an old man says won't stop us from getting our revenge.

Chris: Yea, lets teach that fucker that no one will ever mess with us without a consequence.

Markus turned around to look at them, and smirked mischievously, almost with the look of a madman, knowing that his gang would do whatever he says, whenever he says, and they would not take this defeat so well.

But then, something got their attention; Another teenager was simply passing by when he heard all they were saying and stood there, paralyzed because of the fear of hearing that they were gonna make Max pay, even though he didn't even know Max personally, and when they all turned to see that he was standing right there, the fear inside him began to grow more and more.

As soon as they all saw that poor kid just standing there, Markus immediately charged towards him and pinned him to the wall with violence, almost crushing him, looking him in the eyes and speaking with a very enraged voice and expression.

Markus: Oh, well look who we got here! Didn't anyone tell you that listening to things that are not your business is a bad thing? *Slams him against the wall with violence* Who the hell are you and what do you want?

Jean: *with a lot of fear in his voice* S-sorry M-Markus... I was just s-standing there, I wasn't doing a-anything, I swear, m-my n-name is J-Jean. P-please, d-don't hurt me... I-I was just passing b-by and I heard t-that you w-wanted r-revenge on M-Max f-for how he-

Markus: Don't you fucking dare to mention that, YOU HEAR ME FUCKER?! *Starts slamming Jean against the wall multiple times* And you were passing by just because, huh? How convenient. Now, just because you had the bad luck to be right there in the wrong moment, you are going to tell me, WHERE IS MAX?!

John: Uh... Markus? I don't think the kid knows. Remember Max has only one friend and that is Jessy. In fact, I doubt he even knew who Max was before all this.

Markus: WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY ABOUT MENTIONING THAT, HUH?! And I don't fucking care whether he knows or not, he is going to tell me right fucking now, where is Max! Or else...

Jean: *Starting to tremble in fear* I-I d-don't k-know! I-I-I t-think h-h-he's in h-his room, w-w-with a g-g-girl. I-I p-passed b-by M-Max's room an h-hour ago, a-and h-heard a g-girl... a-and I-I t-t-think she said it w-was M-Max's b-birthday or something...

Markus: His... birthday you say..? *Stays silent for a few moments and then bursts out in laughter, letting Jean go out of a sudden* His birthday! Ha ha ha! Oh, this is just too good... Guys, since today its Max's birthday, and since he never told us before about it, how about we give him a especial treatment today, and every single day its his birthday for the rest of his life? What do you guys say, huh?!

After Markus said that, all his gang raised their fists into the air and shouted "Hell yea!" at the same time, getting ready to pay Max a visit, and letting Jean go, who after feeling that Markus wasn't pinning him to the wall anymore, ran away as fast as he could, feeling guilt inside because he knew he just betrayed the only one who has ever made a stand against Markus and his gang and succeeded, but that wasn't his problem anymore, so he simply ran away as fast as he could, hearing the shouting of Markus and his gang who were heading to Max's bedroom, ready to pick him by surprise.

Meanwhile, Max and Jessy after finishing the cake and singing a few songs together, were just laying on the floor, telling jokes and talking about various things in particular, and of course, about the fight.

Jessy: ... and the way you kicked Tim in the face was just priceless Max! I really didn't know you knew how to fight. Was that like, some sort of martial art or something? I couldn't even tell because you were kicking ass like you were a hurricane!

Max: Martial art? Actually... no. I don't know any martial arts at all. I just... began punching and kicking, that's it. It somehow felt... natural. Like if I already knew how to do it. And I kind of enjoyed it... I think the reason I was able to beat them up was because I had a reason.

Jessy: And what was that reason?

Max: I... uh... I-it was... you Jessy... I couldn't... *Starts blushing* I couldn't let them put a single hand on you... I didn't want them to...

Jessy then almost immediately began blushing as well, getting a little bit nervous due to what Max had just said, then she looked at Max.

Jessy: R-really? You did it... for me?

Max: Y-yea... I... I did... b-because you're my only friend. I can't let anything happen to you Jess. *Thinks* Fuck, that was close...

Jessy: Oh... w-well, thanks Max! I... I don't even know what to say... wow... I never thought you did it for me. And well, you're my best and only friend as well Maxy, I would do the same for you. *Thinks* Damn, that sounded lame... I need to change the subject before I really start blushing... *Stays silent for a few moments, until she remembers something important* Oh, yea, Max! Didn't you pick up Markus' knife by the blade? You should be bleeding a lot right now! Did the principal put something on your hand to prevent you from bleeding?

Max: Huh? Oh, yea, the knife. I forgot about that. I didn't even feel it when I... grabbed it. I think it was because of the adrenaline or something.

Jessy: Yea, but even if you didn't feel it that doesn't mean you're ok Max. Now give me your hand, I need to see how badly are you-

And as soon as Jessy picked up Max's hand, she noticed he wasn't bleeding at all. In fact, he didn't even have a single scratch or scar. No wounds at all. It was almost like he never grabbed the knife.

Max: What the... There's nothing there. How? I... I felt the knife in the palm of my hand, but it didn't hurt at all. This is weird.

Jessy: Maybe the knife wasn't sharp, and just for show, you know? Markus is like that.

Max: Then how is it that when I threw the knife away it got buried into the floor? And its a wooden floor too. That knife was sharp, there's no doubt of that, but... how is it that I didn't got cut out of that? Not even a single mark.

Max kept trying to look for any wound, any scar, blood, whatever he could think of. His hand was clear. He couldn't find anything. It didn't make any sense to him and Jessy that he grabbed the knife by the blade and did not even got hurt by it.

Max kept on searching for any signs of blood on the palm of his hand, when suddenly the door began to shake violently, like if someone was slamming against it, and in the other side of the door, laughter and shouting could be heard very clearly. Markus and the rest of his group were right there, and Tim was kicking the door with violence, trying to get inside Max's bedroom. Both Max and Jessy stood up immediately and began to back away from the door.

Markus: Come out, come out, little freak! We heard today is your birthday! So we are gonna give you a very especial gift, and to your girlfriend as well! Keep kicking the god damn door Tim!

As soon as they heard Markus' voice, a shiver ran down their spines, and Max moved the bed to block the door so they could get more time to think on what to do. They were both pretty scared, and kept on making barricades with whatever they could use, and when they ran out of things to block the door, they began to back away once more, then Max looked at the window and thought of something.

Max: Jessy, see that window over there? Get over there, open it and run. Its big enough for any of us to go through it. You go, I'll try to stop them.

Jessy: Max, no! If you stay to fight them, then I'll do the same. I won't let you alone Max, not today, not ever. I promised you that, and I'm not planning on breaking that promise any time soon.

Max: They are here for me Jessy, and if you don't go, you'll get hurt too, and I won't let that happen. I fought them once, I can do it twice. Besides, we got no time to discuss this Jess, run!

Jessy: But, I... I won't go if you don't come with me Max. You might have been able to fight them that time, but don't risk it. I won't go unless you come with me.

Max: *Sighs a bit annoyed* Fine... I'll go with you Jessy. Now, lets move. Ladies first.

Max moved a chair he had so they could reach the window and let Jessy go first. The noises and door shaking stopped for a second, but Max didn't care and told Jessy to hurry up.

Half of Jessy's body was already out, she already see the street, however, the bedroom was two stores high and she knew jumping off was a bad idea, so as soon as she had the rest of her body out, she stepped on the rooftop and quickly ran to hide behind a water boiler.

She was breathing really heavily and her heart was beating fast, pumping adrenaline in case she needed it to either fight or run. She tried to calm down for a second, but she felt something was missing. Jessy quickly turned her head to see where was Max, and once she saw he wasn't there, she knew what was missing and got much more worried. Max was still in the room.

Once Jessy got out of the room, Max looked behind to watch if the door would shake violently again. He saw nothing. Things were getting suspicious. However, he knew he had to hurry up in case they would try again, so he rushed to the window and started to attempt to get out, but then he heard a very loud crack coming from the door and all the things he had put in front of it fall down as well.

Tim was now charging against the door with all he had got. Max immediately thought of protecting Jessy over protecting himself and rushed to the door and decided to block the door himself and try to resist as many hits as he could to buy her some time to escape.

On the other side of the door, Tim was getting at least 5 meters away from the door to charge at it one more time, while the rest of the crew was cheering and constantly saying "Tim! Tim!". After a few seconds of mental preparation, he charged at the door from that distance and right when he was about to impact the door he put his shoulder in front of him so the damage would be absorbed by his arm, like football players do, and the door finally burst open.

Max, who was trying to block the door by pushing against it with all his strength, got literally thrown away due to how strong was the impact of Tim against the door and crashed against the wall. Tim who had just entered the door and was about to fall to the ground, managed to reach his hand to grab Max and throw him out of his own room with one move before falling to the ground.

Max could hardly even get up. And when he was just starting to try and stand up, he saw 4 shadows getting closer to him, and he knew who did those shadows belong to. As he managed to look up, he saw the faces of Jake, Chris, John and Markus, who were enjoying the sight of watching Max not being able to get up due to how fast everything happened.

Max was finally able to stand up as they were getting closer and closer to him, crunching their knuckles and chuckling evilly to try and intimidate Max. Then they heard a voice coming from behind them, it was Tim who got up not so long ago and was shouting.

Tim: The bitch isn't here Markus! I think she got away through the window!

Markus: I give two shits about that whore, the one I want dead is this freak over here! Now come and get your ass over-

As Markus tried to finish the phrase, he got punched in the ribs by Max, who could not stand up so well because the hit he received from Tim hurt him more than what he would expect, and before he could react to his own pain, Jake pushed Max away and made him fall to the ground again. When Max tried to stand up once more, Tim charged at him from Max's room and successfully tackled Max, crushing him against the wall and hurting his back even more.

Max roared with rage, and let a frustrated and filled with pain scream come out of his mouth. His back was hurting far too much. Max was only able to hit Tim with his head to defend himself, but that didn't work so well, and Tim held him by his shirt and gave Max a punch hard enough to send him a meter away from him.

Max once again tried to stand up, but when he began trying, Chris came from behind and wrapped his arms around Max, squeezing him hard enough to make his back hurt again, making Max roar in pain again. Jake and John got closer to Max while Chris was holding him and started to punch him.

They were only able to punch Max a few times until he moved his head to the side so their punches would hit Chris, making him let Max move, and ignoring the pain on his back as much as he could, Max kicked John in the stomach and punch Jake on his chin, but after moving so much, the pain on Max's back began to get worse, making him kneel and unable to move freely.

Once kneeling, Max lost all concentration on his surroundings due to all the pain he was feeling, and because of this, he did not notice the fact that Markus was getting closer, and once he was just a few centimeter away, he kicked Max on his face, and once he managed to make Max lay on the ground, he began to stomp on Max's stomach and chest and kick him on his ribs, and right after doing that Markus grabbed Max from his shirt to make him stand up, and with an enraged and evil smirk looked into Max's eyes, who had a very painful and angry expression on him.

Markus: Hey there freak! Did you think you could really get away with yours and humiliate me like that you asshole?! Now, because of what you did to me, I'll make your life twice as worse as it already was you idiot... and don't worry, from now on, we won't forget when is your birthday. And in this same date, the next years of your life, we will make you wish never been born! Happy birthday, Max!

Then Markus kicked Max away, making him fall to the ground once more. Max was completely unable to move any further. He was stunned because of all the damage they had inflicted on him. And just when he thought things could not get worse, Chris came up from behind and hit Max on the back of his neck with a baseball bat he had brought before coming to Max's room, knocking Max out instantly.

After Max lost consiousness, Markus and all his gang started to stomp, kick, punch and humiliate him as many ways as they could. Max could not move, only feel the pain and hear their laughter and all their insults towards him, and there was no one there to help him.

Half an hour had passed, and their thirst for revenge had finally seased. To end with Max's torture, they decided to throw him off the stairs that lead to the corridor where his room was. John, who was the only one who thought about the consecuences, told them he could die if they would do that and tried to stop them, but it was too late for that. Max fell down the stairs very painfully and landed facedown in the floor, still unconscious. John checked if he was still alive, and once he noticed he was still breathing, decided to leave Max there and go with the rest after knowing that they didn't need to hide his body.

Max could still feel the pain over all his body and still hear their laughter, as he was laying down on the floor, alone, hurt, and hopeless. He had been through similar situations in the past, but never so painful and long. Max had already had enough of all that. He would not last any longer. Not anymore.


End file.
